Two-compartment container

Description of the invention

The present invention relates to a two compartment container with compartments used to keep two components separate from each other until use. The invention also relates to a method of adding a first component to a second component.

Many different types of packaging have been designed to enable the components of the product to be kept separate until use and, in some cases, to maintain the sterility of one component until use. In one type of dual compartment package, a plug or other means is placed in the opening between the two compartments. For example, the two-chamber Halma container (US Patent No. 5,417,321) is a one-piece container having two compartments assembled on top of each other and connected by a plugged opening. All patents referenced in this solution are incorporated herein by reference only.

Other dual compartment packages use a perforating device that allows two previously separated components to be mixed. An example is the patent granted to Gonvalves (U.S. Patent No. 5,170,888, which discloses a glass vessel defining a first necked chamber on which a bottle defining a second chamber is mounted, with a membrane between the two chambers which is pierced when the perforating device is moved. to a glass vessel, and U.S. Patent No. 4,757,916, wherein two modules are disclosed that are separated from each other by a lid pierced by manipulation with a mixing punch). The two-piece Wiegner container (US Patent No. 4,103,772) has a frangible coated aluminum foil septum dividing the chambers and a piercing member mounted on a flexible portion transversely oriented towards the septum. In the patent issued to White (US Patent No. 4,637,934) a rigid piercing means was used to pierce the chamber closing membrane so as to allow nutrient fluid to flow from the chamber to a communicating, attached nipple.

So far, two-compartment packages have also been developed which have an opening container attached to the top of the package and are provided with a screw cap and a cylindrical shell-shaped support ring. The cylindrical shell-shaped support ring is attached to the upper part of the package by means of a fastening flange externally surrounding the opening disc and is provided with a rising thread on its inner surface. The ring surrounds the male thread of the plastic nut. A knife is integrally formed on the free edge of the nut that has a leading cutting edge extending at an angle through the free edge.

For products such as two-component epoxy adhesives, two chambers are also needed to prevent reaction of the products, as disclosed, for example, in Wilkinson et al. (US Patent No. 4,786,279).

A container according to the Renault patent (US Patent No. 5,564,600) has two chambers separated by a sealing member pressed against the seat such that movement of one container relative to the other causes the sealing member to move away from the seat and an annular channel to form between the seal member and the seat.

U.S. Patent Nos. 6,209,718 and 6,105,760 and co-pending Patent Application No. 09/775486 disclose a two-chamber package that keeps the first chamber separate from the liquid until use, so that the first component is only wetted immediately prior to use. The dual compartment package keeps at least one component sterile until immediately prior to use, at which point or immediately prior to use, the two components can be easily mixed. The above invention can thus be applied to containers for the separate packaging of dried bacterial cultures to be added to the food, liquid food, drug or beverage immediately prior to consumption, for the separate packaging of carbon dioxide infiltration tablets added to the beverage immediately prior to consumption, and for the separate packaging of vitamins or other non-persistent ingredients before adding them to a beverage, liquid food, drug, or beverage prior to consumption.

U.S. Patent No. 6,098,795 and co-pending patent application (No. 09/592217) disclose a container and means for adding a selected ingredient to a primary package, thereby forming a two-compartment container holding a first ingredient, which e.g. may be moisture-sensitive, separate from the main package. the second component, preferably a liquid, up to

At a selected point in time prior to use. The delivery package, preferably having the second component in a cavity within a recess in the delivery package, may be mounted on the outer surface of the primary package. A piercing means is also provided to cut the chamber and the main package so as to access the main package, e.g. to release the first ingredient from the chamber into the main package. Alternatively, the main package may be a pouch, such as the enteral package in the preferred embodiment of the first embodiment. In a second embodiment of the invention, the main package is preferably for holding a liquid beverage, and the delivery package is attached to the main package during the manufacturing process.

In some cases, such as in aseptically filled bottles or cartons, it is necessary to provide means for adding a selected separate first component to the package after the package has been manufactured and / or at some point on the package, which component may have a different concentration and / or composition. , depending e.g. on the patient's medical history and diagnosis. The provision of means for attaching the first compartment to the package after both the first compartment and the package have been manufactured, allows the user to select both the specific first component to be added to the package and the time and location to add the first component to the package. There is also a need to be able to add beverage additives, in particular degradable or moisture- or oxygen-sensitive ingredients (e.g. vitamins), to the liquid beverage bottles at the time of consumption of the beverage or immediately beforehand.

The design types used in many existing dual compartment containers are complex and often leaky. Thus, there remains a need for dual compartment packages that keep the first component separate from the liquid component until use, such that the first component is not wetted until use; which keep at least one of the components sterile until immediately prior to use, and wherein the two components are readily mixed immediately prior to use, and which show minimal or no leakage before and after the components are mixed. There is e.g. the need for such containers for separately packaging dried bacterial cultures to be added to a food, liquid feed, drug or beverage immediately prior to consumption; for separately packaging carbon dioxide infiltration tablets to be added to a beverage immediately prior to consumption, and for separately packaging vitamins or other unstable ingredients prior to adding them to a beverage, liquid food, drug, or beverage prior to consumption.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a two compartment container holding a first chamber, which may be moisture sensitive, kept separate from the second component, preferably a liquid, until a selected point in time prior to use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a two-chamber container that has improved processing properties and reduced leakage.

A two-compartment container according to the invention for adding a first ingredient to a second ingredient, having a first chamber containing a first ingredient, the first chamber having an upper layer and a lower layer, and a second chamber containing a second ingredient, characterized in that the first chamber is made of material susceptible to cutting, wherein the second chamber has an overcap including a flexible dome and a cutting means extending from the bottom of the flexible dome towards the top layer of the first chamber, the flexible dome being displaced in a depressed state of the flexible dome and the bottom layer being pierced by the cutting means and the first component passing through to the second chamber.

Preferably, the cutting means is a projection attached to a flexible dome.

Also preferably, the cutting means has a tapered pointed end.

In a preferred embodiment of the container, the cap has a central opening surrounded by a tube having a lower end extending below the cap, the cutting means being part of the lower end.

Preferably, the flexible dome and the cutting means are integrally formed.

Moreover, preferably, in the depressed state of the flexible dome, the cutting means the upper layer and the lower layer are cut by the cutting means and the first component passes into the second chamber.

Also preferably in the depressed state of the flexible dome the upper layer is moved downwards by the cutting means, the lower layer being pierced.

In a preferred embodiment of the container, the top layer is thicker than the bottom layer and in the state of pressing the flexible dome and the cutting means the top layer remains unbroken.

PL 200 707 B1

Moreover, the inventive method of adding the first component to the second component using the first chamber and the second chamber is characterized in that the flexible dome mounted on the second chamber is pressed to cause the flexible dome to change shape and pierce the lower layer of the first chamber by cutting by means projecting from below the flexible chamber. domes towards the top layer of the first chamber, with the release of the first component into the second compartment containing the second component.

Preferably a cutting means is used which is a projection attached to a flexible dome.

Also preferably an adapter is used having a central opening surrounded by a tube having a lower end, the cutting means being part of the lower end.

Preferably, a flexible dome and cutting means are used that are formed as one unit.

Furthermore, a cutting means having a tapered pointed end is preferably used.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, pressing on the flexible dome causes the cutting means to cut the upper layer and the lower layer, releasing the first component into the second chamber.

Preferably, pressing on the flexible dome causes the cutting means to push the top layer down so as to pierce the bottom layer.

The subject matter of the invention is shown in the exemplary embodiments in the drawing, in which fig. 1 shows the first embodiment of the invention, showing the dome before pressing it, in section, fig. the second embodiment of the invention, showing the dome before pressing it, in cross section, fig. 4 - a second embodiment of the invention, showing the dome after pressing it, in cross section, fig. 5 - a third embodiment of the invention, showing the dome in section before pressing it, fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of the invention, showing the dome after pressing it, in section, fig. 7 is a section of an alternative structure of the dome according to the invention.

The invention provides an improved dual compartment container having a cutting means for releasing a sensitive ingredient from the first compartment into the second compartment with minimal or no leakage around the cutting means or opening of the second compartment.

In this description, the terms "under and over" and the like are used to denote the orientation of the elements of the article according to the invention with respect to each other when the container is a bottle, carton etc. oriented with the opening of the second chamber facing upwards. In particular constructions or applications of the container according to the invention, the container may be oriented in other ways without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it should be understood that in such cases the actual orientation of the elements of the object according to the invention is changed accordingly.

In particular, the invention is a container 10 having a first compartment 12 and a second compartment 14 (Figs. 1-7). Although the second compartment 14 generally serves as the main container containing the second component C2, which is typically a liquid, and the first compartment 12 serves as a package for delivering the first component C1 to be added to the second compartment 14, it should be understood that use in this specification The terms "primary pack and delivering pack" do not impose any limitations on absolute or relative pack sizes. The terms are used only to distinguish the two packages due to their different functions and design characteristics, the primary package includes known packages for containing substance, and the delivery package is preferably designed to contain the first component to be added to the primary package. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the second chamber 14 is a bottle with a screw cap or a carton, such as the conventional juice carton.

The first chamber 12 has a top layer 16 and a bottom layer 18, and includes a first component C1 to be added to the second chamber 14. The design of the first chamber 12 is preferably similar to the designs disclosed in the related patent applications, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. by reference. Thus, a preferred first chamber 12 is preferably made of a foil, most preferably a foil having a plastic layer on one face on the outer side of the chamber, such as e.g. polyethylene laminated aluminum foil, catalog no. PETP12 from Danisco (Allborg, Denmark).

Above the first compartment 12 is a dome 20 which is part of the cap 24 closing the second compartment 14, the dome 20 being upwardly curved and flexible. Preferably, the dome 20 is formed from thin, flexible plastic as known in the art. Below dome 20 is cutting means 22A, B, C which most preferably is integral with dome 20 but has a shape, size and stiffness to pierce upper layer 16 and lower layer 18.

PL 200 707 B1

In the first and second embodiments (Figs. 1-4), a collar 36, extending above the threaded area 38 of cap 24, holds dome 20 suspended above the second chamber 14. Thus, with these embodiments of the invention, pressing on dome 20 by pushing it down exits the cutting means 22A, 22B inside the collar 36 such that both the top layer 16 and the bottom layer 18 of the first chamber 12 are cut by the cutting means 22A, 22B, releasing the first component C1 into the second chamber 14. This design allows the cutting means 22A, 22B to move up and down inside the container 10, which, unlike the prior art, has no parts moving inside itself which could cause leakage from the outer part due to the movement.

In the first embodiment of the invention, shown in Figs. 1-2, the cutting means 22A is a regular punch that projects downwardly from the dome 20. The configuration of the cutting means 22A may be adapted to different types of material being pierced. Preferably, the pointed end 30 has a simple conical shape without protrusions, or alternatively the pointed end 30 may be tapered with serrations or cross-sectional notches, as in related applications. As shown in Fig. 2, pressing on the dome 20 causes the normal punch to pass through both the top layer 16 and the bottom layer 18 such that the first component C1 is released into the second chamber 14.

In a second embodiment of the invention (Figs. 3-4), which is particularly useful in situations where the second compartment 14 is a beverage container or the like, the cutting means 22B may form part of a wall surrounding an opening through which the beverage can be drunk. Thus, as shown in Fig. 3, in this embodiment the dome 20 is preferably located on the top of the cap 24 of the beverage container. The dome in this form has a central opening surrounded by a tube 21. The bottom of the tube 21 extends to a blade 32 which in this form forms the cutting means 22B. The blade 32 may be of any shape that is capable of piercing the upper layer 16 and the lower layer 18. Above the tube 21 is a nipple 26 through which the liquid can be sucked out, the nipple having internal projections 28 for sealing the opening as is known in the art. in this field, the purpose of the nipple is to prevent the package from leaking when not in use. Pressing on the dome 20 exits the cutting means 22B as the tube 21 is lowered, thereby piercing both the top layer 16 and the bottom layer 18 of the chamber 12. The nipple 26 closes by itself when not in use and the pressure from inside the container 10 increases the degree. pacifier closure 26.

In the first and second embodiments shown in Figs. 1-4, the first chamber 12 hangs downward and has a top layer 16 and a bottom layer 18, whereby when dome 20 is pressed as shown in Figures 2 and 4, both layers are punctured. In these cases, both layers 16 and 18 are preferably relatively thin and easy to pierce. In contrast, in the third embodiment shown in Fig. 5-6, the first chamber 12 is bent upwards, the top layer 16 preferably being quite thick, e.g. made of thick plastic and / or foil. The flat bottom layer 18 is a thin foil that is easy to pierce. As shown in Figs. 5-6, a shorter cutting means 22C is provided to make room for the upwardly bent first chamber 12 and because the cutting means 22C need not pass through the entirety of the first chamber. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6, when dome 20 is depressed in this embodiment, it pushes the top layer 16 downwards such that the intact but downward pushed layer 16 presses and eventually pierces the bottom layer 18 as shown without piercing the top layer 16.

In the alternative embodiment of the dome according to the invention shown in Fig. 7, there is no flange 36 extending to the top of the dome 20, and the dome 20 is not suspended above the second chamber 14. In this embodiment, the sides 40 of the dome 20 rest directly on a layer that extends across the dome 20. the top of the second chamber (either on the top layer 16 or on the bottom layer 18).

In both embodiments, the cap 24 preferably includes an outer cap 34, as shown in Figures 1, 3 and 5, which prevents the dome 20 from being accidentally depressed prior to use, e.g., during shipping and storage. The shape of this cap 34 may be any shape known in the art or otherwise as desired and does not form a particular part of the invention.

The invention is mainly designed to add a selected, sensitive first component C1, preferably located in the first chamber 12, to a liquid housed in the main package (second chamber 14). The term "selected first component C1" as used herein includes the first component (s) selected for the particular application, e.g. for adding to a bottle or carton for use by a person needing additional vitamins or antibiotics, or having a specific volume or concentration, etc. The first component can be a single compound, mixture, solution, capsule, powder or any other ingredient (s) suitable for storage in a container intended to be added to the main packaging, which 6

The first ingredient preferably comprises a second ingredient (which in turn can be any ingredient (s) suitable for storage in a container into which the first ingredient can be added to form a useful product. Choice from a range of prepackaged first ingredients in the first form. The invention allows the buyer to purchase and store the first and second components separately, e.g. for storing non-perishable second components at ambient temperature, and for storing first compartments each containing one of any number of selected first components in appropriate, possibly separate, storage spaces for subsequent addition to the second component. When the first component C1 comprises microbial cells, the first component is preferably a powdered preparation as described in related patent applications herein.

The term "sensitive" includes first components that are sensitive to moisture or that react with the second component, e.g. to form by-products that change the utility value of the combined components, e.g. from initially useful to weak, caused e.g. by a loss or change in strength or value with time after the ingredients are combined. "Sensitive first ingredients also include those ingredients that may require special storage and / or handling until immediately prior to addition to the second ingredient, such as freezing, drying or heating; as well as first components which for whatever reason (s) it is desirable to be kept separate from the second component, from manufacture to a later point, e.g., when added to the second component.

It is preferred that the first component is in the form of a powder which is dry stable and which is readily dissolved or suspended in the liquid in the primary package as disclosed in related patent applications. The invention is particularly useful for adding unstable and / or sterile ingredients to a drink, liquid food or drug, e.g. for adding vitamins or beneficial gastrointestinal microorganisms such as Lactobacillus reuteri to fruit juice, milk, water and medicaments.

While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be appreciated that numerous changes, modifications, and forms are possible, and therefore all such changes, modifications, and forms are to be considered within the spirit and scope of the invention.